Month: September 2004
Local Review: Discourse – Self-Titled
Discourse Self-Titled Discourse = Every Time I Die + My Morning Jacket + whatever A band named Discourse and scenes of urban pandemonium on a jacket cover generally sway me to believe that the album I’m about to hear is probably going to be punk rock of some fashion—or at least something hardcore or possibly
Local Review: Dreno – Self-Titled
Dreno Self-Titled Dreno = God Forbid + Downset When Dreno’s got it, they got it. Unfortunately, they become confused every now and then and, apparently, due to a longing for originality in a saturated hardcore/metal market, stray from what they do best (ridiculously heavy riffs and guttural vocals) and incorporate things like spoken-word emo
Local Review: All Systems Fail – Self-titled 7″ vinyl EP
All Systems Fail Self-titled 7″ vinyl EP Loderback Records All Systems Fail = Discharge + Nausea + Chaos UK Remember the good old days of punk, before the intervention of Hot Topic, AFI, Green Day, mall punks and other assorted corporate shit? Then you need to pick up All Systems Fail little vinyl beast! Metalcore? No! Emo?
Review: Fiver – Let It All Fall Down
FIVER LET IT ALL FALL DOWN Devil in the Woods Fiver encompasses dream pop that at times reminds of Postal Service because of the falsetto over-electronic elements, but more often than not, the guitars push away the comparisons. This is more akin to the shimmery pop that dominated the U.K. and American College charts in
Review: E-Man – Slangin (Remixes)
E-MAN “SLANGIN (REMIXES)” Jellybean Soul Records From the Jellybean Soul label comes another hot track for summer. Originally produced by E-man and Jon Cutler (remember the duo worked on “It’s Yours” for Chez Music), this latest mix consist of the expert help of Marlon D and Tedd Patterson (did you catch him last month in
Review: Effigy – Grinding Metal Massacre
Effigy Grinding Metal Massacre Crust War Side A starts with a somber intro that builds up to a plodding, heavy pace, just like Amebix. The main riff sounds a lot like Antisect, so Effigy is still within crust-punk territory. Uh oh; the thrash metal riff just started. The singer sounds like he did time in
Review: Displacer – Arroyo
DISPLACER ARROYO M-tronic 4.5/5 It has only been a little more than a year since Displacer made his mark on the IDM scene with Moon_Phase and he is already back with his second masterpiece, Arroyo. Eleven original tracks feature beautiful soundscapes with delicate rhythms, making Arroyo a “must-have” for fans of Beefcake, Lapsed and Gridlock.
Review: Deepswing Feat. Kristi Lomax – Love Is…
DEEPSWING FEAT. KRISTI LOMAX “LOVE IS…” Generate Music What I believe to be in the top five, if not the best, release from Generate Music, “Love is …,” is the first solo project produced by Eric Wikman of Deepswing Productions on the Generate label. Originally created in a “live band session” with some of the
Review: Clinic – Winchester Cathedral
CLINIC WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL Domino The men dressed in scrubs return with more evidence of exactly why they are one of the cast of Radiohead’s favorite bands (sometimes it is hard to tell who exactly is influencing who) and how it’s just about time everyone else took notice. In many ways, Clinic are the older, more
Review: Beyond The Embrace – Insect Song
Beyond The Embrace Insect Song Metal Blade It’s so strange to hear rock music anymore. Metal, for the most part, has moved far into the extreme, while rock music has moved far into the corporate, “MTV” world. Beyond the Embrace’s album Insect Song is a rock/metal hybrid, although they are much more metal than they
Review: Black Tape For a Blue Girl – Halo Star
BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL HALO STAR Projekt Often regarded as innovators in the ethereal/darkwave genre, Black Tape For A Blue Girl return with an album that is dominated by male vocals rather than the angelic female approach that has been found on the majority of their recent releases. It is, however, not a
Review: Beefcake – Viande De Gateau
BEEFCAKE VIANDE DE GATEAU Delikatessan Records 5/5 Viande De Gateau has got to be the biggest tease of this year. This 10″ vinyl contains a mere four delicious tracks that are incredibly satisfying, but will leave you craving more. It begins with “gv-001-2003″, super glitchy pops and break beats and lasts only four and a
